{{Unreferenced, date=May 2010 BAI, or the BAI file format, is a

file format A file format is a standard way that information is encoded for storage in a computer file. It specifies how bits are used to encode information in a digital storage medium. File formats may be either proprietary or free. Some file formats ...

for performing electronic cash management balance reporting. The BAI format was developed and previously maintained by the

Bank Administration Institute BAI (Bank Administration Institute) is a nonprofit organization in the United States that provides research, training, and thought leadership events for the financial services industry. Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, BAI also operates Banking S ...

(BAI). One common application of the BAI format is for use by banks to transmit returned item data to customers (for example, checks which have been marked insufficient funds (NSF)). The current release is ''Cash Management Balance Reporting Specifications Version 2'', typically referred to as ''BAI2''.

History

In 1971, BAI created a precursor to the BAI format called the ''Lockbox Communications Standards for Banks'', which supported reporting only for lockbox services. This standard was never updated and was eventually superseded by the BAI format. In 1980, BAI, working with various U.S. banks, released ''BAI1'', the ''Cash Management Balance Reporting Specification, Version 1'', the first release of cash management balance reporting specifications. Some banks still use BAI1, but BAI discontinued formal support after 1990. In 1987, the original specifications were replaced by ''BAI2''. In 2001, the ''BAI2'' specifications were updated to include new codes for lending transactions. Since the user base of the BAI format has reached critical mass and is considered self-supporting, BAI no longer actively supports (or charges for) the BAI format specifications, which are now freely available as a 104-page

PDF Portable Document Format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems. ...

document (see the external link below to the "Cash Management Balance Reporting Specifications"). The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) is the international financial industry messaging cooperative that maintains the official list of worldwide currency codes as used with BAI2. Appendix B of the BAI2 specifications mirrors the list as of June 2005. In 2008, the Bank Administration Institute transferred copyright ownership of the BAI file format to the Accredited Standards Committee X9, Inc. - Financial Industry Standards ( ASC X9). As of early 2009, the document is being revised by an X9 committee of bankers and corporate members to become an

American National Standard The American National Standards Institute (ANSI ) is a private non-profit organization that oversees the development of voluntary consensus standards for products, services, processes, systems, and personnel in the United States. The orga ...

. ASC X9 has been accredited to develop American National Standards for the

financial services Financial services are the Service (economics), economic services provided by the finance industry, which encompasses a broad range of businesses that manage money, including credit unions, banks, credit-card companies, insurance companies, acco ...

industry since 1984.

External links

BAI Cash Management Balance Reporting Specifications Version 2SWIFT (worldwide currency codes)Accredited Standards Committee X9, Inc.BTRS – The Balance and Transaction Reporting Standard (formerly BAI2)
Computer file formats